Avon Fantasy Reader No. 9 — page 108: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

shapes seemed to stand towering half-seen, away to port. A few minutes passed, while we stared. Then, suddenly, we heard the Mate’s voice— “All hands on deck!” he was shouting, along the decks. I ran aft a few steps. “Both watches are out, Sir,” I called. “Very good!” said the Mate. “Keep handy all of you. Some of you have got the axes. The rest had better take a caps-n-bar each, and stand-by till I find what this devilment is, out yonder.” “>i 4, Sir,” I said, and turned forrard. But there was no need to pass on the Mate’s orders; for the men had heard, and there was a rush for the capstan- bars, which are a pretty hefty kind of cudgel, as any sailorman knows. We lined the rail again, and stared away to port. “Look out, you sea-divvils,’ shouted Timothy Galt, a huge Irishman, wav- ing his bar excitedly, and peering over the rail into the mist, which was stead- ily thinning, as the day grew. Abruptly there was a simultaneous cry—“Rocks!” shouted everyone. I never saw such a sight. As at last the mist thinned, we could see them. All the sea to port was literally cut about with far-reaching reefs of rock. In places the reefs lay just submerged; but in others they rose into extraordinary and fantastic rock-spires, and arches, and islands of jagged rock. “Jehosaphat!” I heard the Third Mate shout. “Took at that, Mister! Look at that! Lord! how did we take the boat through that, without stoving her!” Everything was so still for the moment, with all the men just staring and amazed, that I could hear every word come along the decks. “There’s sure been a submarine earthquake somewhere,” I heard the First Mate say. “The bottom of the sea’s just riz up here, quiet and gentle, during - the night; and God’s mercy we aren’t now a-top of one of those ornaments out there.” And then, you know, I saw it all. Everything that had looked mad and im- possible, began to be natural; though it was, none the less, all amazing and wonderful. There had been during the night, a slow lifting of the sea-bottom, owing to some action of the Internal Pressures. The rocks had risen so gently that they had made never a sound; and the stone ship had risen with them out of the deep sea. She had evidently lain on one of the submerged reefs, and so had seemed to us to be just afloat in the sea. And she accounted for the water we heard running. She was naturally bung full, as you might say, and took long- er to shed the water than she did to rise. She had probably some biggish holes in her bottom. I began to get my “soundings” a bit, as | might call it in sailor talk. The natural wonders of the sea beat all made-up yarns that ever were! The Mate sung out to us to man the boat again, and told the Third Mate to take her out to where we lost the Skipper, and have a final look round, in case there might be any chance to find the Old Man’s body anywhere about. - “Keep a man in the bows to look out for sunk rocks, Mister,” the Mate told | 106 Conmicloooks.Cconn) 4